


not how i planned this to go

by pasty



Category: Ookiku Furikabutte | Big Windup!
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Camping, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-26
Updated: 2015-12-26
Packaged: 2018-05-09 07:15:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,624
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5530667
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pasty/pseuds/pasty
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>my secret santa gift for the lovely <a href="http://hawberries.tumblr.com">hawberries!</a><br/>happy holidays and have a good new year!!</p><p>abe, mihashi and the gang as camp counselors for a baseball camp for kids, which isn't christmasy at all, wintery at best and yet here we are<br/>more focused on the kids getting together so sadly only a minimal amount of pining topped with a cringeworthy confession<br/>this is an au i didn't know i needed until i had the idea</p><p>hanai for best mom 2k15</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

 

 

“The first thing I want all of you to do is take your bags out of the bus and take them into the main building, we’ll have the first meeting right away!” Momoe instructed from the front of the bus, keeping herself steady as it slowly came to a full stop.

 

 The bus was filled with excitement and anticipation. Mihashi was especially nervous, not being too used to kids. And now, he'd be looking over a group of four or five on the baseball camp for children. He'd have a partner to help take care of them, of course, but that didn't fully take off the pressure.

 

 After getting off the bus and standing on the large roundabout they had parked on, Mihashi looked around at the grounds. The main building was a white concrete building with large windows and glass doors. To the right, there was a playground with swings and slides, surrounded by three rectangular wooden buildings. They were old and weathered, but comfy looking.

 

 The large parking lot was behind them, having enough room to hold probably around a hundred cars. A little further back from the parking lot, Mihashi saw the tall fences of the multipurpose sports field. To the right he saw a gravel road, leading to a large grassy field. A few wooden buildings like the others peeked behind the trees.

 

 “Ren”, Abe called, pulling Mihashi out of his trance. “C’mon.”

 

 They were on their third and final year of high school, having been on the same baseball team for nearly three years now. During those three years, they had gotten closer and eventually even gotten close enough to call friends.

 

 They were a proper battery now.

 

 The main building was comfortably warm when compared to the cool air outside. There was a long coat rack they could leave their jackets and other clothes on, and their bags they left on the side of the room, on the sofas, chairs and tables arranged there.

 

 Two doors, around fifteen meters apart from each other, had the word ‘AUDITORIUM’ taped onto them with bold black letters. To the left of them, there was a large room filled with tables with eight chairs. The smell of food made Mihashi remember how hungry he was.

 

 “When you're done setting down your stuff, get into the auditorium”, Momoe said as soon as she stepped into the building.

 

 The auditorium had eight rows of folding chairs, four next to each other on each row on the sides of the room and maybe around twenty in the middle, divided into three sections by the doors and the stairs leading to them. At the bottom of the room, there was a white screen for the projector hanging from the ceiling behind a large table with a laptop and a chair. There was an empty poster notepad, too, shoved to the side and partially hidden behind a large potted plant.

 

 Mihashi spotted Tajima waving at him from one of the middle rows, so he and Abe slid to the chairs next to him. Most of their team was sitting on the same row or the row in front of them. There were sixteen teens in the room before Momoe stepped in with the other coach and his assistant coach and the old man who funded the camp, followed by Shiga.

 

 “Hey”, a little too familiar voice called from the seat behind Abe’s, making him turn around and reflexively grimace as he saw Haruna. The older boy laughed at his reaction. Before he could say anything more to Abe, though, Momoe demanded their attention from the front of the room.

 

The coaches and their assistants introduced themselves first, followed by the introduction of the camp’s funder. He left the room as soon as he had given his thanks to everyone in the room, though, and he soon slipped from the minds of everyone. The coaches first showed the map of the grounds, telling them where everything was and where they and the children would be sleeping.

 

 The rules they were told were simple enough, mostly being about things like not cursing in front of the children to having to be on time to the meetings and activities.

 

 Soon, Shiga handed out a stack of papers to go around the room. “The papers will tell you the kids in your group and their positions in their teams, so look over them”, Momoe said and started listing the designated partners. “Abe and Mihashi”, she said after four other pairs, took a breath and continued, “You guys will also be our example battery during these tree days, alright?”

 

 The pair glanced at each other quickly before nodding to Momoe’s comment.

 

 “W-What does that mean?” Mihashi asked from the other boy. Abe shrugged, but hurried to answer when he noticed the slight rise of nervousness in the blonde. “We’ll probably have exercises for the kids about being a battery, or just about pitching and catching overall.”

 

 Even the roundabout not-really-an-answer calmed Mihashi down. The blonde received the stack of papers from Tajima and handed it to Abe, searching the paper for their names and group. “Two pitchers and two catchers, huh? They're from the same teams, too”, Abe commented. “Makes sense.”

 

 After Momoe had listed the pairs and the teens had had time to look over their groups and discuss about them a little with their pairs, they received another paper with the activities and exercises they'd be having during the three days. Friday, which was the next day, the kids would be arriving in the afternoon and they'd mostly have basic introduction games with their groups for them to get to know each other and their counselors.

 

 Saturday and Sunday were filled with group activities either in the smaller groups or as a whole, a couple of hours of practice on both days and free time scattered here and there. The camp would end on Sunday evening after practice games with the kids divided into four different teams.

 

 After they had looked over the timetable and gone over some smaller details about it, they were free to go and settle down in their rooms before dinner. “Remember that as soon as the first children arrive tomorrow, you'll need to focus on being their counselors until the last child has left on Sunday!” Momoe shouted from the front of the room over the chatter of the teens.

 

\-----

 

“What about this one?” Abe asked as he pointed to the room with two separate beds, intended for the counselor. Mihashi hummed as an answer, slipping into the room past the other boy. Abe took a deep, shaky breath before stepping into the room himself. He'd be staying in the same room with the blonde for nearly four days.

 

 Mihashi had already hogged the bed next to the window, sitting on his knees on the mattress and looking out, the sunlight making his puffy hair glow golden. “Did you..?” he asked quietly after he noticed Abe staring. “No! No, I'm good, you can have that one”, he hurried to answer, nearly biting his tongue as he did so.

 

  _Goddammit._

 

 Abe did his best to collect himself and the scraps of his dignity, setting down his bag on the bed and opening it. He focused all his power on taking out his clothes and neatly setting them down in the cabinet on the side of the room, followed by his towel, toothbrush and -paste, shampoo and other miscellaneous stuff. Anything other than being mesmerized by the blonde.

 

 When Abe had already emptied his bag and made his bed, Mihashi had only started on emptying his bag and was left with nearly an hour until it was time for dinner. Being so quick to settle down in the room had only left him with more time to fuss over.

 

 Lying down on his bed, Abe took out his phone and tried to spend some time reading something, _anything_ , online, but the ridiculously bad connection had that plan go awry. Defeated, he set his phone down and watched the blonde take out clothes from his bag and nearly throw them into the cabinet.

 

 When he took out one of his sweaters, the blonde’s movements came to a stop. He turned to look at Abe, taking the latter one by surprise and causing him to shift his eyes from the blonde to the window. “W-What do you think the kids will be like?” he asked quietly. “It's… hard to say before seeing them”, Abe answered.

 

 “You t-think we’ll be o-okay?”

 

 The question made Abe look at the blonde again, noticing just how unsure the blonde was. “Yeah. Of course”, he answered, staying silent for a moment before continuing with a much softer, if not slightly unsure, voice, “We’ll always be okay, won't we?”

 

 Mihashi blinked slowly, making Abe uncomfortably aware of his own words. Before Abe could bury himself in the ground, however, the blonde snorted a light laughter before smiling brightly. “You’re r-right.”

  
 Abe scratched the bridge of his nose, now staring at the ceiling. _That's one interesting plank, isn't it?_


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

 

The air was filled with excitement and tenseness during next breakfast. The children would be arriving in a few hours, and before that the counselors would go prep the baseball field and the common areas in the main building and the buildings with their and the children’s rooms.

 

 Mihashi was sitting in a table with Abe, Tajima and Hanai. They were the first ones at breakfast, the dining hall empty besides them and the two coaches a couple of tables away.

 

 “What’s your group like?” Hanai asked mainly from Abe. Two pitchers and two catchers, all from the same team. Hanai nodded lightly, mumbling something about it being a reasonable choice to put the children in the same group and with the specific counselors.

 

 “What's y-your group like?” Mihashi asked between bites of his sandwich. “We have six kids, mostly power hitters. Four are from the same team with each other”, Hanai answered, glancing over at Tajima who took out a can of energy drink and a thermostat. “Just  _ what _ do you think you're doing?”

 

 The freckled boy proceeded to open the thermostat and pour the energy drink inside. When he grabbed the coffee cup in front of him, Hanai’s face fell into a grimace. Tajima poured the coffee into the thermostat, closed it tightly and started shaking it. “What?” he asked, the rest of the table staring him with either confusion or disgust.

 

 “D-Doesn't that taste gross?” Mihashi asked, more confused than disgusted. Tajima glanced at the thermostat in his hands, still shaking it almost furiously. He shrugged. “We’ll find out soon, don't we?”

 

 “What's that?” Izumi asked, appearing from behind the freckled boy, sleep in his eyes. “Either my best or worst idea during this camp”, Tajima answered. Izumi stared at him for a second and shook his head, knowing better than to question it. He shuffled away towards the food set out on a long table to grab some breakfast himself.

 

 Others soon followed in various states of sleepiness, the various staff of the camp scattered across the tables, sitting down in small groups. When all, or at least most, had arrived at breakfast, the coaches took the opportunity to give some last minute advice.

 

\-----

 

 When the first bus appeared behind the trees, the tension amongst the counselors peaked. They'd been sitting in mostly silence in the sofas in front of the glass doors inside the main building, and now quickly put on their shoes and jackets and poured out to welcome the children.

 

 Somebody whispered a few words quietly, receiving a light nervous laughter in return.

 

 Mihashi was biting his bottom lip, standing between Abe and Hamada. The taller blonde had the job of a runner, helping out with any task he was able to along with Chiyo.

 

 Abe glanced at Mihashi, seeing his own tenseness in the blonde. He wasn't sure what to say to him to ease the nervousness, either. Thus, they stood there in silence as the two buses parked in front of them on the roundabout, seeing the faces of the children from the windows. Some were pressing their noses on the glass.

 

 They greeted the children with smiles as they stepped down, few of the counselors guiding them into the main building and helping them set down their bags and outer clothes and into the auditorium where the coaches and their assistants were waiting.

 

 When the last children were sitting down on the folding chairs, Abe and Mihashi glanced at each other with a ‘so far so good’ smile, sitting down besides each other on the side of the auditorium, then focusing on the coaches in the front of the room.

 

 Momoe and the other coach introduced themselves. The other coach, Sato Tatsuya - whose name had slipped by Abe last night - continued with a mostly cheerful speech about what the camp was about and what would happen during the days the children were there.

 

 The children listened the two closely, a few of them exchanging glances or a couple of whispered words with their friends, but quickly quieting down by Momoe’s strict stare.

 

_ Of course she doesn’t cut the slack even with eight year olds _ , Abe thought, smiling to himself a little. He didn’t listen to the speech too closely, as it was mostly intended for the children anyways. But, when it was time to introduce the counselors and the other staff to the kids, he focused again.

 

 They were called to come down to the front of the auditorium to stand in a mostly even row and introduce themselves by telling their names, positions and the teams they played in. A few words about themselves were optional, but most did mention at least something.

 

 When the introductions were done, Sato started telling the children their assigned counselors. He’d say the names of the pair, who would take their group to the buildings they’d be sleeping in and help them with settling into their rooms. Afterwards they’d be playing basic introduction games in their groups.

 

 Abe and Mihashi’s names were the second ones to be called out, and they raised their hands in response, breaking away from the row and jogged up the stairs to the door to wait for their kids. ‘’Shimizu Junya, Mori Shinji, Nakajima Haruki and Goto Yu’’, Sato listed from the front of the room. The pair standing in front of the door watched as four children stood up from their chairs and followed them to the door. ‘’Let’s go and get your bags’’, Abe said as he opened the door and held it open for Mihashi and the children.

 

 Both the boys and the children were nervous and awkward, unfamiliar with each other and their surroundings. When they stepped out of the door to the chilly afternoon, one of the kids piped up. ‘’You’re a catcher?’’ Shimizu asked, looking at Abe. The small boy had short, straight black hair and dark eyes. He was also tallest out of the four boys. He seemed the leading type, walking in front of the other kids.

 

 ‘’Yeah’’, Abe answered, watching as the boy then turned to Mihashi. ‘’You’re a pitcher?’’ he asked. Mihashi nodded. ‘’And you’re a battery?’’ Mori asked before Shimizu could. Both of the older boys nodded. ‘’How long have you been together?’’

 

 Abe choked, the wording of the question catching him off guard. When Abe didn’t provide an answer to the question, Mihashi piped up. ‘’Two and half y-years. Right, Takaya?’’

 

 No matter how many times Mihashi called him by his first name, Abe never seemed to get used to it. Especially after- after early spring when he had realized his feelings for the blonde on that one evening when they’d walked back home together and Mihashi had called his name and smiled -  _ God _ what a smile - and called Abe’s name again because he’d forgotten himself to stare at the blonde, how Mihashi’s cheeks and the tips of his ears had reddened from the cold air and he’d breathe into his palms to warm his fingers because he had forgotten his gloves and…

 

 ‘’T-Takaya?’’ Mihashi called again, pulling Abe from his memory. ‘’Y-Yeah. Two and half years, yeah.’’

 

\-----

 

The afternoon went by quickly enough with the introduction games they played, the day turning to evening. Abe and Mihashi collected the stacks of papers and pens they had been drawing on with the children, the younger boys presenting their drawings proudly to them and each other.

 

 One of the kids, Nakajima - the shortest of the children with ruffled hair and a bright smile - was still scribbling on paper when Abe put the last pen into its box. ‘’W-What are you drawing?’’ Mihashi asked, leaning over to see himself. He’d quickly gotten used to the children, and they seemed to like him well enough. ‘’Abe’’, the boy answered, drawing one last line and setting down the pen to pick up the paper with both of his hands. ‘’Me?’’ Abe asked, surprised. Nakajima nodded, turning the paper around so Abe could see it himself.

 

 What the boy had drawn was a stick figure wearing a bright red t-shirt and black pants - the clothes Abe currently had on. The figure’s face was contorted to a furious look, mouth a small circumflex and brows furrowed angrily, long and thick enough to take up half of the face and even go over the black spiky hair. Nakajima smiled brightly, proud of his drawing.

 

 ‘’It looks just like you!’’, the boy exclaimed. Mihashi looked at the drawing for a moment, then turned to look at Abe. The blonde smiled a little at first, chuckling. Soon enough, he was giggling. ‘’Hey’’, Abe said flatly, trying to be serious, but smirking himself. ‘’You making fun of me?’’

 

 ‘’B-But!’’ Mihashi laughed, ‘’It really is just like you!’’

 

 Abe shook his head a little, the smile stuck on his lips as he watched the blonde do his best to contain a new spurt of laughter. ‘’Go put your clothes on so we can go eat’’, Abe said to the little boy, who quickly set down his drawing and ran down the hallway.

 

 ‘’And you better help me’’, he said to Mihashi, gently slapping the palm of his hand against Mihashi’s arm, taking the last pen Nakajima had used and put it away with the others while Mihashi took the stack of clean paper. Abe opened the closet at the side of the room they’d taken them out of.

 

 ‘’You g-get along really well wi-with them’’, Mihashi said, his voice now quieter. When Abe turned to look at the blonde, he had turned his back on him, seemingly avoiding his eyes. ‘’I- I wish…’’, the blonde said quietly, but didn’t finish.

 

 After a few seconds of silence, Abe sighed a little. ‘’They just like to pick on me. You’re getting along with them, too, aren’t you?’’

 

 He still didn’t look at him nor did his words seem to have any effect. ‘’C’mon. Look at me’’, Abe said, waited for Mihashi to meet his eyes, and continued, ‘’I’ve asked you to trust me a lot over these couple of years, and I’m asking that again. You’re doing well. Really well, even. Trust me on this.’’

 

 It took a moment for Mihashi to relax his tensed shoulders, to smile just a little again. ‘’I trust you’’, he nearly whispered. Abe put away the pens and closet the cabinet. ‘’Let’s go or the kids will leave us behind’’, he said, placing his fingers on Mihashi’s back for a moment to pull him along with him.

 

 When the two stepped out of the building, the four children outside waiting for them perked up and quickly gathered around them. ‘’Mihashi!’’ Nakajima called, surprising the blonde. ‘’Can I get a piggyback ride?’’

 

 ‘’What?’’ Abe asked before the blonde could say yes or no, ‘’Why?’’

 

 ‘’Ryo got one from Tajima, so..!’’ the little boy explained, now somewhat reserved. Abe sighed a little, the blonde next to him still unsure. ‘’So?’’ Abe asked after a moment of silence, ‘’You gonna say yes or no?’’

 

 Mihashi quickly glanced at him, surprised, then turned to the little boy in front of him. ‘’S-Sure’’, he said, receiving a gleeful laughter from Nakajima.

 

\-----

 

 Abe and Mihashi stepped into their room, quietly, since the kids’ rooms were only a few meters away from theirs and they'd been asleep for an hour already. The staff meeting had just ended and both of them were tired, ready to fall asleep in a matter of seconds.

 

 During the meeting it had started to snow, and it had piled into a thin layer of white, covering everything.

 

 The drawing of Abe was taped onto the wall and Mihashi giggled a little as soon as he saw it again. The blonde let himself fall onto his bed, pulling his legs close to him and snuggling with his blanket. “At least change your clothes”, Abe whispered, changing his own clothes into loose pyjamas.

 

 After they'd changed their clothes and brushed their teeth, Mihashi was sitting on his bed looking out of the window as Abe was lying down on his. He watched as the blonde blew a deep breath onto the window, fogging it up and drawing tiny little drawings with his fingers.

 

 The moonlight poured into the room, illuminating it with soft white light. Abe shifted his position slightly, feeling how much harder it was to open his eyes again each time he blinked. After one last drawing, Mihashi lied down on his bed. He was facing Abe, lying down on his side, so Abe was forced to shift his eyes to the ceiling. He took a deep breath, letting it out slowly.

 

 “Abe”, Mihashi called quietly, getting a tired hum in answer. “I- I wanted to… Say t-thanks.”

 

 “For what?” Abe answered. “For… E-Everything. I don't think… I've thanked y-you, so…”, Mihashi mumbled, his words still clear in the silence of the room. Abe didn't answer, unsure what to say, what the blonde wanted to hear in answer. Both of them were silent.

 

 “And… I w-wanted to tell y-you t-that…” Mihashi continued, stuttering more than usually, “That I-I… li-...”

 

 Abe listened patiently, waiting for Mihashi to finish his sentence.

 

 “I li-like…”

 

_ Oh no. _

 

 “Like y-you.”

 

_ Oh no, oh no no no. _

 

 “I l-like you.”

 

 Abe was frozen, staring at the ceiling with wide open eyes, all the sleepiness in his body gone. He must've heard wrong. Or misunderstood.  _ Definitely _ misunderstood. There was literally no way. … Was there? No. There wasn't. Definitely not.

 

 After time that felt like an hour to the boy, Mihashi shuffled in his bed, turning around to his other side. The room was dead silent, the snow still falling outside, large tufts of white drifting down onto the ground.

 

_ Definitely misunderstood. _

 


	3. Chapter 3

Abe woke up violently when his alarm started blaring, it's sound seeming louder than usual. He had managed to fall asleep at some point, then, but he definitely wasn't well rested. His eyes felt dry and his whole body seemed to be made of lead.

 

 He crawled out of bed, seeing how Mihashi rubbed his eyes in the morning sun, feeling his chest tighten a little.

 

_ It was just a misunderstanding _ .

 

 He avoided Mihashi to the best of his abilities, all the way from waking up and getting ready to waking up the children. The little they spoke during and after was a few words at best. They barely looked at each other, and when they walked together, Mihashi lagged behind by a couple of steps.

 

 When they were sitting with the children on their breakfast table, the smaller boys picked up on the awkwardness between the two. “Mihashi”, Goto, the bright-eyed and brown haired boy called, his small voice soft with worry, “What's wrong?”

 

 “Ah-, it's n-nothing. I didn't s-sleep too well”, Mihashi answered, smiling weakly. When Abe glanced at the blonde, he noticed how dark the skin under his eyes was and exactly how tired he looked. He hadn't been the only one to miss out on sleep last night.

 

 He bit his lip, a heavy lump forming in his throat, turning his eyes back to his breakfast and poking it with his utensils. He'd lost the little appetite he'd had.

 

 The kids seemed to accept Mihashi’s explanation, but were still worried about him. They shot a few worried glances towards Abe, too. Abe furrowed his brows, pressing his knuckle between them. He took a deep breath, closed his eyes and let it out slowly. After a couple more, he was somewhat relaxed.

 

 He opened his eyes and set down his utensils. Just like Momoe had said when they had arrived, all he needed to focus on right now were the kids. All else could be forgotten until they were on their bus and on their way home.

 

 Even this… thing. And especially the tightness in his throat and chest as soon as he even thought of the blonde, staying awake in his bed just like him, maybe even wondering if Abe had heard, or understood him wrong and-- no.  _ Forget for now. _

 

\-----

 

The practice with the kids didn't exactly help Abe feel any better.

 

 All the kids whose positions were either a catcher or a pitcher in their teams, rotated eventually to Mihashi and Abe for half an hour; every time a new group arrived, Mihashi would take his place on the mound while Abe crouched in his box and they'd show a few examples of different pitches - excluding the fastball which was Haruna’s forte and his job during the practice. It was awkward to keep eye contact and their usual easiness around each other was simply gone.

 

 Even Mihashi, who still had his nearly ridiculous accuracy - which was well known with the kids - got a couple of pitches wrong. Some of the counselors had talked about playing a game with each other, but even if they'd play with teams with only seven players, their team wouldn't have been able to trust their battery.

 

 When their last group of kids rotated away to Suyama and Sakaeguchi, Abe noticed Tajima pull Mihashi with him and sit him down on one of the long benches. The freckled boy stared at him for a moment, probably noticing how tense Abe was, until returning his attention to the blonde.

 

 Abe looked around the field for a bit before backing away to where Hanai was sitting with Chiyo and Hamada.

 

 “Hey”, he said as he sat down besides them, taking the water bottle their manager offered to him. None of them said anything for a moment, not until Hanai sighed a little, Chiyo’s and Hamada’s looks reminding him of his job as the captain.

 

 “So, what's up?” he asked. “Nothing, really.”

 

 “Come on, man, it's obvious. Don't make me address the elephant in the room.’’

 

 Abe buried his face into his palms for a moment, sighing heavily. ‘’It’s nothing.’’

 

 ‘’You know I know you’re lying.’’

 ‘’It’s-’’, Abe started. He buried his face deeper into his palms, groaning. ‘’I’ll sort it out. I’ll sort it out, okay?’’

 

 ‘’Good’’, Hanai answered, chuckling lightly. He guessed that whatever was going on between the two most likely wasn’t nothing too serious nor required any assistance from people from the outside.

 

\-----

 

The rest of the day was almost painful for Abe. Every time he looked over at Mihashi, seeing the tiredness in him and how his smile fell as soon as he thought nobody was looking made Abe’s chest tighten, only worsening when he pretended he didn’t see anything.

 

 Even if he’d misunderstood, he’d have to talk to Mihashi.

 

 The minutes and hours inched by, the activities seeming to last thrice and long as they actually did and by the time they were about to tuck in the kids before the staff meeting, Abe was checking the clock every two minutes. Most of the things they went over in the meeting slid right by him. As soon as he left the room, Mihashi lagging behind him, he’d forgotten everything they’d talked about.

 

 Before the two could reach the building they slept in, though, Tajima popped up behind them, asking Mihashi to stay with him for a few minutes to talk about something. Abe decided to go ahead, since it’d give him a few minutes to steel himself.

 

 After Abe had gotten ready to bed he waited. He lied down on his side in his bed, flipping through the pages of a magazine he’d read thrice by now. By the time he’d flipped through most of it, Mihashi finally came in.

 

 When the blonde stepped into the room, he walked straight past Abe, took off all his clothes besides his undershirt and underwear and was under his blanket in seconds. Abe lied still, doing nothing and barely breathing when he stared at the blonde. The way he’d just been completely ignored had thrown him off.

 

 After a moment of silence which felt like fifteen minutes to him, Abe finally took a breath and called the blonde by name.

 

 ‘’Ren.’’

 

 The blonde seemed to flinch, but didn’t answer. Abe tried again. ‘’Ren?’’ he called softly.

 

 He didn’t try a third time.

 

\-----

 

The next morning wasn’t much better than the last, but Abe went through it like any other.

 He didn’t dare look over at Mihashi. He didn’t want to see what he looked like today, worse or better than the morning before.

 

 Maybe it’d be better to just leave it be.

 

 By the time it was time to start the first of two games, the two hadn’t exchanged a single word or a look. When Hanai saw how the situation had stayed exactly the same, he gave a look to Abe which made him wish he’d tried harder last night.

 

 Abe sighed, rubbing his cheeks, sitting between Mihashi and Suyama, watching the game between the children. The rest of the pairs chattered about their groups - if they were the ones playing - or talked with their children and kept them calm and more or less focused on the game.

 

 ‘’I’ll go g-get a drink’’, Mihashi said, stood up abruptly and left. Abe resisted the urge to watch him leave, keeping his eyes on Goto instead, who was crouching in the catcher’s box and signing for Nakajima. Soon enough, Abe felt a tap on his shoulder. When he turned around, he saw Tajima and Hanai giving him a look, making his face fall. He swallowed his groan, huffing some air instead and slowly picking himself up.

 

 No matter how much he’d like to deny it, the two were right. The sooner the situation between him and Mihashi would be solved, the better. Letting it just be wouldn’t be a solution either.

 

 It didn’t take long for him to find the blonde leaning against the fence at the side of the field, talking with Hamada.

 

 ‘’Sorry’’, Abe said, grabbing the attention of the two, ‘’I… need to borrow Mihashi for a moment.’’ Hamada just nodded with a ‘yeah’ and left the two alone. Mihashi still didn’t look at him.

 

 ‘’So- we…’’, Abe started, ‘’We need to… talk.’’ He wasn’t too sure how to go with this, how to do the whole talking thing in this situation. Mihashi staying silent and still avoiding eye contact didn’t really help.

 

 ‘’About the… other night.’’ With that, Mihashi turned to look at him, wide-eyed and kind of looking like a deer in the headlights. When Abe opened his mouth again, he turned to look away again, partially hiding behind the glass of water in his hands. ‘’About what you said’’, Abe continued, his words slowly gaining confidence.

 

 ‘’I- I honestly don’t know if I did-’’, he started, licked his lips and swallowed. His mouth was suddenly dry and it felt like his tongue was sticking to his lips and the roof of his mouth. ‘’But I…’’, Abe said slowly, taking a breath, ‘’Kinda hope I heard you right. And… that I didn’t misunderstand it.’’

 

 He said it.

 

 Mihashi didn’t say anything, he didn’t even move. Abe stared as the red rose up to the blonde’s cheeks and ears, making his whole face beet red. It took him a moment to notice that Mihashi’s hand was shaking a little.

 

 There was silence between them, filled with the sounds of the game and the audience, neither of them said or did anything more. Both of them were waiting for something to happen, to break the silence, for the other to say something,  _ anything _ .

 

 Mihashi finally moved, breathing out a tiny shaky breath and letting the cup in his hands lower away from his face. ‘’You…’’, he said quietly, the redness of his face as strong as ever.

 

 The sounds of the game interrupted the blonde, though, yells from the children making him raise his eyes from the ground to the children. Somebody had brought someone else home, making a run. The two watched as one of the children ran across the diamond and another one get outed at the third base. Apparently it was the third out, judging from the fact that the children started running from the field to the base and Goto started taking off his catcher’s gear.

 

 The moment - if there even was one - was now ruined, and Abe  _ definitely _ didn’t want to continue it as the children poured towards them, followed by their counselors.

 

 ‘’We’ll... talk later’’, Abe said, quickly turning around and leaving the blonde behind, only just now realizing how warm his own face felt.

 

 The rest of the game went by fidgeting, nervous glances at each other, talking and praising the children from their game and their plays. Every time Abe felt his arm or fingers brush against Mihashi’s, he felt a surge of energy and the butterflies kicking his stomach. The worst part about it all was the  _ knowing _ looks from both Tajima and Hanai.

 

 Even though he was a little sad that the children would be gone in a couple of hours, he wished that their parents would pick them all up as soon as they were able so he could have ten minutes alone with the blonde. The guilt he felt from that got him to give every child in his group a piggyback ride either from or to the main building after the game as they went to eat together for the last time and had the final gathering in the auditorium.

 

 They stayed with the children in the main building, playing games with them until their parents picked them up one by one.

 

 After an hour of waiting, the last child was on their way home. Abe and Mihashi peeled themselves off the chairs they’d been sitting on, quickly putting on their shoes and stepping out into the now warm air. The snow had melted away as soon as it had fallen and the air had warmed up enough for them to be able to be outside without a jacket on.

 

 Abe wasn’t sure if the two minute walk to their room went by too fast or not slow enough.

 

 He followed Mihashi into their room, closing the door behind them. It didn’t take long for the silence to settle in. The blonde was standing in front of his bed, picking on the front of his shirt - an old nervous habit he’d managed to drop for the most part. He cleared his throat awkwardly, catching the blonde’s attention, who turned to look at him, fingers still messing with the front of his shirt. He’d lost all the words he’d prepared, the plans on how he was going to do it if he ever decided to actually go through with it. He was clueless on what to do.

 

 The two stared at each other across the room - at least until Mihashi turned his face down towards the floor, his cheeks cherry red again.

 

 ‘’Uh’’, Abe hummed, his voice hoarse and he cleared his throat again. ‘’About… the other night.’’ The blush on Mihashi’s face deepened. ‘’You said you-’’, the catcher continued, ‘’L-Liked me?’’ He wasn’t sure if he was asking that from himself or from the pitcher. After a few seconds, the blonde nodded. It was a small, shy nod, but it was a nod no matter how you looked at it. Before he knew it, Abe was covering his face with his hand, his own blush starting to cover his face.

 

 ‘’S-So…’’, Abe stuttered, his voice quieter than he had intended. ‘’What’re we gonna do now?’’ Mihashi wasn’t able to provide him with an answer, so they just stood there in silence, blushing.

 

 ‘’I’m really… sorry’’, Abe said suddenly, the blonde raising his eyes to meet Abe’s. ‘’For ignoring you the first time. This would’ve been a lot easier if I just…’’ Abe sighed. Mihashi quietly shuffled closer to him until he was close enough to reach for the catcher’s hands. ‘’If I just had been smarter. You probably thought I hated you or something, didn’t you?’’

 

 During the two and half years they’d been on the same team, he’d learned just how easily Mihashi’s thoughts went for a loop sometimes. His dead silence hadn’t definitely helped with it.

 

 ‘’I… did. B-But!’’ he said, letting his gaze fall down onto his hands as he awkwardly laced Abe’s fingers between his. The catcher couldn’t help but chuckle a little and move his hands so that their fingers were laced more comfortably. ‘’It’s… better now’’, Mihashi said, watching Abe’s thumbs softly trace circles on his own. His brows were furrowing again.

 

 ‘’Yeah, but-’’, Abe mumbled, forcing a more relaxed look and huffing a small breath. He pulled Mihashi’s other hand to his mouth, placing a small kiss on one of his knuckles. ‘’I’m sorry’’, he said quietly, repeating his words with each kiss planted on each knuckle on both of the pitcher’s hands. When he had repeated that ten times, he sighed, letting their hands fall between them, fingers still laced together.

 

 ‘’Forgive me’’, he whispered, leaning in until their foreheads were touching. Mihashi met his gaze, the amber eyes watching him through his blonde eyelashes. Abe had never realized how blonde the pitcher’s eyelashes actually were. Mihashi was smiling a little, clearly holding back a wide grin. The catcher let out a small chuckle, allowing himself to smile. Without much of a though, he was leaning in closer to the blonde, letting his eyes fall half closed when their noses brushed against each other, feeling the blonde tense up a little and relax as quickly and raise his chin himself, and god he’d be kissing him soon--.

 

 ‘’Are you done packing?’’ Tajima exclaimed when he practically threw the door in, the door slamming loudly against the wall and the two in the middle of the room haphazardly breaking apart from each other. ‘’What? You haven’t even started?’’ Tajima continued - either not realizing the situation that had been going on in the room only a few seconds ago or was simply ignoring it.

 

 ‘’We were just about to... start’’, Abe answered. ‘’Well you better hurry up if you intend to catch the bus, we’re leaving in half an hour.’’

 

It didn’t take too long for the two to pack their things, clean their room and jog to the main building with their bags swinging behind them. The bus appeared from behind the trees as soon as Momoe noted the two had appeared and in a few minutes they were packing themselves into the car.

 

 When the bus departed with a jerk, Abe felt Mihashi’s hand brush against his. The blonde locked his pinky with his, forcing him to cover the lower half of his face to hide his smile for the rest of the way home.


End file.
